Hikers take a pass on Black Friday

Nov. 25, 2012

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Mark Sugars, from Irvine, takes a break in a dry stream bed lined with Western Sycamore trees during a Buy Nothing Day hike put on by Back to Natives Restoration on Friday. Hikers walked the San Juan Loop off Ortega Highway. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A hiker walks the San Juan Loop trail off Ortega Highway as during a Buy Nothing Day hike on Friday. Back to Natives Restoration puts on the yearly hike in the Cleveland National Forest. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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David and Madeline Kyriakidis and Max Goldsmith, from left, take a break in a dry stream bed lined with Western Sycamore trees during a Buy Nothing Day hike put on by Back to Natives Restoration on Friday. Hikers walked the San Juan Loop off Ortega Highway. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Hiker Carolyn Parsons, from Mission Viejo, watches birds during a Buy Nothing Day hike put on by Back to Natives Restoration. Hikers walked the San Juan Loop off Ortega Highway. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Reginald Durant, Director of Restoration at Back to Natives Restoration, gives an orientation talk before a 2.2-mile Buy Nothing Day hike on Friday. Hikers walked the San Juan Loop off Ortega Highway. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Hikers walk the San Juan Loop trail during a Buy Nothing Day hike put on by Back to Natives Restoration on Friday. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Reginald Durant, Director of Restoration at Back to Natives Restoration, talks about native species during a 2.2-mile Buy Nothing Day hike on Friday. Hikers walked the San Juan Loop off Ortega Highway. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Western Sycamore trees grow along the San Juan Loop trail in the Cleveland National Forest. Back to Natives Restoration led a Buy Nothing Day hike on Friday. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Hikers pose for a group photo during a Buy Nothing Day hike put on by Back to Natives Restoration on Friday. Hikers walked the San Juan Loop off Ortega Highway. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Mark Sugars, from Irvine, takes a break in a dry stream bed lined with Western Sycamore trees during a Buy Nothing Day hike put on by Back to Natives Restoration on Friday. Hikers walked the San Juan Loop off Ortega Highway. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

CLEVELAND NATIONAL FOREST – David Kyriakidis was less talkative than his sister Madeline Friday morning as the two prepared for a hike off Ortega Highway.

David, 9, and Madeline, 7, stood near their parent's blue hatchback sedan as their mom, Katel Kyriakidis, grabbed water and snacks for the hike. Madeline talked about how excited she was; David glanced away.

"He's just a bit on the shy side," his dad, Alex Kyriakidis said.

Not for long.

David, Madeline and their parents joined about a dozen other hikers and a handful of members of Back to Natives Restoration, a nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring and conserving California wetlands, for a 2.2-mile hike along the San Juan Loop Trail.

The hike was organized by the nonprofit group as part of Buy Nothing Day, a day of protest against consumerism that originated with a Canadian activist and has grown to include millions of people in more than 60 countries, according to Vancouver, B.C.-based Adbusters, a network of activists that promotes the effort.

"This is a nice way to spend Black Friday, away from the craziness of shoppers," Katel Kyriakidis said. "We'd rather be in nature then in the mall. This also educates our kids."

Lori Whalen, Back to Natives director of education, and Reginald Durant, the organization's director of restoration, started the hike nine years ago out of disgust, Whalen said.

"We wanted to give people an alternative thing to do, spend time with each other and get out to nature," she said.

It didn't take long before David paired up on the hike with Max Goldsmith, 10. The two talked about riding bikes and David's love of creating something out of nothing using Legos.

For Karen Nixon, 61, of Rancho Santa Margarita, the hike was a no-brainer.

"I like hiking and I think this is a far better way to spend Black Friday than fight people at big-box stores," she said.

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